Thursday, November 1, 2012

Private Use and National Parks,Community Gardens vs Natural Gas Companies?

Native bumblee feeding on Cercis Canadensis at Floyd Bennett Community Garden, Gateway National Recreation Area

Twice now, the community garden at Floyd Bennett Field has been described to me as a private use of a public space when someone up on high has been questioned about HR2606 and placing industrial gas metering and regulating facilities in historic hangars at Floyd Bennett Field. The first time was by Schumer's office and the second time by the National Parks Conservation Association this afternoon. This is interesting. They are referring to a report here which seems to mostly be about uses that dominate desirable areas, with high fees and not the community garden at Floyd Bennett Field which has actually made something out of nothing at the field and provides a measurable benefit to many people from various neighborhoods all across Brooklyn and Queens.

It's interesting that both Schumers office and NPCA want to make the community garden out to be the bad guy here. NPCA even said there were other city parks we could be moved to. I find that infuriating as the community garden I belong to is as good an example of President Obama's Great Outdoor Iniative as any and it has been so for much longer than that iniative's existance. It is maintained by the people who belong to the garden, an everychanging roster of 400 plus families and it is beneficial to not only the people who use it but the wildlife that visit, including the local pollinators who know it as habitat.

NPCA's attack on the community garden is unforgiveable considering their inability to come out against HR2606 and new industrial use of the airfield despite more than one report they have either published or co-authored that calls for moving inappropriate uses out of the park. If they seriously think that community and recreational uses of the field like the garden, which are beneficial to people, the environment and wildlife are part of the problem and not part of the solution, they seem so very sadly out of touch with reality.

Who knew that according to Schumer and NPCA, a community use of the park could be seen as more inappropriate than the proposed industrial facilities by private natural gas companies, which they are in support of? Man, have they got it all upside down or what.